Fanmode favourites

Fanmode presents a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for May ‘08.

Bumblebee beats Optimus.
A smooth stop-motion video by Patrick Boivin. (See also.)

Iron Monger diorama.
A phenomenal piece by Passion Designs.

Trans Scanning Minerva.
If this had been a straightforward repaint of Trans Scanning Bumblebee, it would have been impressive enough but Pisuwo kicked it up a notch by incorporating the Headmaster gimmick as well. (See also.)

Lego Action Comics # 1.
It’s been 70 years since Superman’s debut and Lego fan levork decided to mark the occasion with a Lego version of that classic comic cover.

Robot-Models Transformers sculptures.
It’s good to know somewhere in this world there exists a 2-metre-tall Optimus Prime metal sculpture weighing 250 kilogrammes and costing almost five grand.

Classics Devastator.
Ptitvite finally completed his homage to the original Transformers combiner and what a stunning piece of work it is. The individual Constructicons look wonderful and Devastator is a thing of beauty.

Kamen Rider Garren King Form.
Kamen Rider Garren never received a King Form power-up so we’re glad to see figure customiser kenosyokutaku put his imagination and tools to good use.

My Little Godzilla.
The king of monsters, cutesy-style.

Toy packaging: then and now.
It’s not a topic usually covered or even considered so this article was welcome.

Yujin’s capsule toys.
PingMag talks to the folks at Yujin about the craftmanship and design of their 100 yen toys.

Toy links

Cutar.
Izzo’s cute little MOC is based on a drawing by his son. (More.)

Femtrooper.
A neat custom Lego minifig by Don Solo.

Installing LED lights in a figure.
A guide by Jin Saotome.

Re-energising old toys.
“Some manufacturers … deliberately create unique power systems that force customers to purchase batteries made by that company. When these manufacturers go out of business, the customers are left with inoperable items.”

The Princess Diaries.
“ToyFare takes you inside the Crystal Castle for a look at this classic 1980s heroine, as well as her friends and foes!” (See also.)

Toy links

The power cosmic.
An excellent Photoshop’d photo by ElDave of the Marvel Legends Captain Marvel (ver. Genis) figure.

Big Convoy.
A Transformers Movie Wreckage figure customised to resemble the Beast Wars Neo character.

Variable Fighter Mecha.
A transforming Lego MOC by G747.

Mugen Castle Doran.
A Mugenbine fanmode inspired by Castle Doran from the Kamen Rider Kiva series.

Armageddon approaches … yippee!
A cute digirama by Boogeyman13.

The A Trooper Team.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by an imperial court for a crime they didn’t commit.”

The Four Horsemen and the Elephant.
“They’d already lost a lot of the money they’d put in, and ended up having to pay some out of their own pockets, but the Four Horsemen were determined to make sure the fans got their exclusives.”

Working Class Villains interviewed (part 2).
” … the sculpting of toys and figures has become more of an art form than it ever has been … people are just overcoming those barriers they had been limited by, allowing them to achieve what once was more difficult because of production limitations.”

Toy designer Dan Meyer profiled.
“… a story of toy obsession and professional play that should inspire any high schooler whose parents have told him or her to stop daydreaming and doodling and hit the books.”

Prague Marionettes.
The creations of Lenka Pavlíčková.

Toy links

From Hell.
A spectacular Photoshop’d photo by Tj Tantiangco of the NECA Kratos figure.

Everyone needs someone to look up to.
A fine photo by Jeff Costa Bravo.

Danbo ver. Lego.
An MOC by Delmac-Ind. More.

Venom Spawn.
“… a match made in hell.”

Zelnogrard powers up.
Misodrill demonstrates how the Takara Pluster World Action Pluster Series is compatible with Busou Shinki figures.

Believe the propapaganda.
A Smurfy piece of art by Domnx. (See also.)

Air Guitar Pro. [via]
A video showcasing the acoustic version of Takara Tomy’s nifty toy.

Yujin’s capsule toys.
“Of course, the design is important. But also, if we are not having fun with our job, then there is no spirit to a new product, and it doesn’t really catch on.”

On inventing toys.
“Shrinking toy store shelf space and competition from video games means it’s tougher than ever for entrepreneurs to get their inventions into the hands of kids.”

A G.I. Joe collector’s history.
By James DeSimone. Check out the rest of the site.

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